Research Catalog

Title

Understanding the divorce cycle : the children of divorce in their own marriages / Nicholas H. Wolfinger.

Author

Wolfinger, Nicholas H., 1966-

Publication

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 180 pages : illustrations; 23 cm

Summary

"Growing up in a divorced family leads to a variety of difficulties for adult offspring in their own partnerships. One of the best known and most powerful is the divorce cycle, the transmission of divorce from one generation to the next. This book draws on two national social survey data sets to examine how the divorce cycle has transformed family life in contemporary America. Compared to people from intact families, the children of divorce are more likely to marry as teenagers but less likely to wed overall. They are more likely to marry other people from divorced families, more likely to dissolve second and third marriages, and less likely to marry their live-in partners. Yet some of the adverse consequences of parental divorce have abated even as divorce itself has proliferated and become more socially accepted. Taken together, these findings show how parental divorce is a strong force in people's lives and society as a whole."--Jacket.

Subject

• Adult children of divorced parents > Family relationships > United States
• Divorced people > Family relationships > United States
• Divorce > United States > Psychological aspects
• Divorced people > United States > Psychological aspects
• Adult children of divorced parents > Family relationships
• Divorce > Psychological aspects
• Divorced people > Family relationships
• Gescheiden mensen
• Gezinsrelaties
• Levensloop
• United States

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-176) and index.

Contents

• 1. Introduction -- Marriage and divorce : coexisting American institutions -- Divorce and public policy -- Outline of book -- Data -- Toward a balanced portrait of the divorce cycle -- 2. Why divorce begets divorce -- Father absence -- Institutionalized inequality : racism, poverty, and family structure -- Towards a better explanation -- Predivorce differences -- Context and community -- Socioeconomic explanations -- Genetic differences -- Parental conflict -- Role modeling redux -- Parental divorce and offspring marital problems -- From family of origin to marital dissolution -- 3. Coupling and uncoupling -- The demography of marriage -- Why parental divorce affects offspring marriage timing -- How parental divorce affects offspring marriage timing -- Why the children of divorce have high rates of teenage marriage -- Explaining low overall marriage rates for the children of divorce -- Parental divorce and partner selection : family structure homogamy -- How parental divorce affects partner selection -- Conclusion -- 4. How strong is the divorce cycle? -- How strong is the divorce cycle? -- Differences by family type -- Parental divorce, social background, and respondent characteristics -- How social background and respondent characteristics affect the divorce cycle -- Can unwed motherhood explain the divorce cycle? -- Red herrings -- Multiple marriages and multiple divorces -- Conclusion.
• 5. Historical developments -- How divorce changed in the twentieth century -- Explaining trends in marriage timing for the children of divorce -- How has the marital behavior of people from divorced families changed over time? -- Why marriage rates have declined -- Explaining trends in the intergenerational transmission of divorce -- How much has the divorce cycle abated? -- Conclusion -- 6. The cohabitation revolution -- How marriage and cohabitation differ -- How parental divorce affects cohabiting relationships -- Conclusion -- 7. Conclusion -- Parental divorce and offspring marital behavior : a lifespan chronology -- Marriage timing -- Mate selection -- What makes the divorce cycle stronger? : or weaker? -- Historical trends -- Parental divorce and offspring cohabiting relationships -- Limitations -- The divorce reform movement in America -- The argument for no-fault laws -- Mixed blessings -- Appendix A. Data and methods -- Data -- Survey weights and clustering -- Measuring family of origin -- Socioeconomic variables -- Temporal variables -- Miscellaneous variables -- Missing data -- Analysis -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Appendix B. Evaluating the role of marriage differentials in the weakening divorce cycle.

ISBN

• 0521851165
• 9780521851169
• 0521616603
• 9780521616607
• 0511499612
• 9780511499616

LCCN

• 2004024988
• 9780521851169
• 9780521616607

OCLC

• ocm56904178
• 56904178
• SCSB-1368916

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library